*Journal* (bold letters are Draco's entries, italics are Hermione's)

Draco Lucius Malfoy!

Yes, my little swot?

Did you need something so soon?

They had only separated no more than fifteen minutes before hand. While he knew she would be quick to use the notebook now that she was sure that it was magical and would allow them to talk even when they are were apart, he half expected that it wouldn't have been immediate. The sudden hesitation could have meant any number of things. She was now bombarded by the other women wanting to know how it went, her brain was overthinking things, or the last thing he wanted to have happened. She had come to her senses and changed her mind.

You sir have some explaining to do, and now that you aren't looking at me like I am something to eat, my brain is clear and I have a lot of questions.

Well, Jean… I would say you have an equal amount of explaining to do. I am all ears, and full of my share of questions. Also it is not my fault that you looked so delectable, forgive me for getting a bit carried away when the witch of my dreams walked in looking the way she did and saying my name the way she did. I warned you I would get you back for that chocolate mousse antic and snogging you the way I did is not even close to the plan I have formed in my head.

DRACO!

Yes love?

You said you knew it was me, how did you know? When did you know? Why didn't you say something in the pod?

I could ask you the same thing. You said you had hoped it was me. Have a little thing for me, did you?

Don't mock me Draco, answer the question, when did you know?

Our first dinner. Your headache. You brought up "a friend who had a trick". I knew in that moment when you confirmed that you had called him, or rather me a prat.

Hermione watched the other women finish primping Gianna. She looked lovely. They had hit Hermione with so many questions when she walked in, and she told them she would answer them after she changed, and Gianna went to meet Derek. She didn't want to take away from her and knew that by the time Gianna got back they would all be ready to ask her a million questions as well. Hermione had never had many female friends, she wondered if this was what it was like to live in a sorority or to have more than Ginny and Luna who she never met up with at the same time.

Gianna asked if they could hold all their questions until she got back. She wanted to hear about Drake too. Hermione agreed and said she was going to write in her journal before she forgot too many of the details that way it would all still be fresh in her mind when Gianna got back. It had allowed Hermione to scurry off to her pod so she could write to Draco in peace. She had so many things to ask and say to him, especially now that she knew it was him. And by his reaction he was still very interested even though he knew it was her that he had been "dating" blindly.

You knew then and didn't say anything?!

Honestly, I was afraid that when you realized it was me, you would want no part in things any longer. I told you the other day. I was halfway there before I realized I had fallen. I was afraid that if you knew it was me, wait a moment. You said you hoped it was me. Why are you not answering to that?

Well, when I put the puzzle pieces together it only seemed logical that it was you. It didn't make any sense, but the pieces all fit.

That doesn't explain why you would hope it was me though.

It must certainly does.

Oh, my bossy little swot badass. It so does not. You wanted it to be me. You didn't flinch when it was me standing there. It could have been some muggle man, but you wanted it to be me. You said it yourself. Why?

Because

Because is the start of an answer Granger. It is not an answer in and of itself. Did you learn nothing at school?

I suppose that it made sense in my mind that if I were to meet a man who was my equal in intellect, and who I could discuss the various things that we have over the course of this time that it would make sense that it be someone on my level.

Draco laughed out loud, and the sound brought Hermione's eyes up to the panel in front of her. She had not expected that he would also go back to their pod(s) to write.

Are you in the pod? Or have I now developed the ability to sense when you are laughing at me?

I expected you to be talking things over with the other women. I wanted some time to think and settle myself after seeing you. I didn't hear you enter the room, or maybe we arrived at the same time and that is why we didn't hear each other.

Hermione stared at the panel and bit her bottom lip then hand her fingers across it. She could still feel where they were puffy from his assault on them.

You kissed me! You, you called me yours again. You got down on one knee.

Noticed all of that did you?

He laughed again. Hermione wanted to say something out loud, but she knew that they were always being recorded for whatever footage the producers decided to use. Writing away made it look like she was journaling about their encounter and that they didn't know the other was there. She wanted to keep it that way. This time was theirs to figure things out as Draco and Hermione, not Drake and Jean.

I can smell the smoke from here, love. Stop over thinking it all. I seem to recall you saying yes to me, and then snogging me back. I think I even may have heard you make that noise you do when you are eating dessert.

Draco, did you mean it?

Which part?

All of it? Did you mean what you said?

Hermione. I told you. And I meant it. I have gotten to know you over these last few days, and you have gotten to know me. The true me, no mask to present to the world what my father thought I should be, no pretending. I might not have realized it when we were younger, but looking back, you were always what my father tried to beat into me that the woman I married should be. You are amazing, and when I let myself know you as more than just Saint Potter's brains, I knew that you were beautiful. Inside and out. I know that when I have seen you at the Ministry or with Potter, I have wanted to say so much to you. And I know that when I told you that I wanted to keep my trick a secret so you had to ask me for help, I deep down meant it. In that moment, I wanted to be someone you turned to and who could do something for you that no one else could.

Did you mean it?

Yes. I love my bracelet by the way. One of the ladies said it was weird that you would choose a dragon. But the more that I thought it was going to be you, the more it made sense and the more perfect it was.

Granger?

Yes?

Why did you use the name Jean? And I want to know about the dragon. You promised.

My full name is Hermione Jean. You want to know about the dragon. Huh. Well you see there is this boy…

BOY! I am not a boy!

I wasn't talking about you. Such a prat.

Hermione smiled. She liked this side of Draco. He was playful, just like their "dates".

As I was saying. Hermione is a very unique name, I wanted to give myself the best chance at meeting someone who didn't know the stories of the war. Not many people know my full name. So it didn't mean changing it at all. As for the dragon, it was your aunt who gave me the idea. We knew that Voldemort would trust her to keep one of the horcruxes. I had been able to get a hair from her, so we polyjuiced and when the thief's fall revealed us and ended the spell that Griphook used it meant we would be trapped. Did you know they actually keep dragons in Gringott's?

Love did you actually fly a dragon out of Gringott's?

I guess I was learning to tame dragons before I tamed you.

When I get to see you again, I am snogging you senseless.

There was a knock on the door, "Are you in there? Gianna is due back in a couple of minutes." Amanda's voice came through the door, and then it cracked open.

"I know you are not over here having another date with Drake, right?" Laura said entering the room.

Hermione closed the journal and held it close in her lap.

"Don't worry Laura, she didn't realize I was here when she first came in and we actually have not spoken out loud to each other the entire time." Draco announced.

"Are you two for real?!" Amanda joked. "You really got engaged an hour ago and couldn't be away from each other so you met up again?"

"No. Like he said I didn't know he was even there until he laughed a few minutes ago. We didn't speak this whole time." Hermione responded rolling her eyes.

"Well, so you say. Drake we are stealing your fiancé for the night. You can see her tomorrow." Laura announced.

"I expect her back to me tomorrow, first thing. I was an only child I don't like to share." Draco answered back then added, "I don't think I am going to be able to sleep, but I hope that you have sweet dreams. I will see you soon."

"I will be there in a moment ladies. I just want to finish the thought I was having in my journal. You can even stand at the door. I just don't want to forget the thought I was having." Hermione said quickly. She heard the door on the other side open, but not close. She had learned his cues over the time they had been here, clearly the others had not. That meant he heard her and was waiting at the door for whatever she was going to write.

Sleep in the pod tonight. I will come back. They get so drunk on the wine they won't even notice I have gone. I don't want you not sleeping because they have decided to have a girls night in the horrid sleeping area.

I will come back and sleep here. But it is okay if you decide to stay with them. We have plenty of time to spend nights together. XO

Hermione smiled, she knew he would be here and she knew she would come back. She still couldn't believe that she was engaged to Draco Malfoy. Harry was not going to believe her when she told him. Later she would send a charmed message so that he knew she was okay and had met someone. She would make him wait for the specifics of it though.

*Ladies*

"So spill it!" Laura looked at Hermione over her wine glass. "What does he look like? His voice makes him sound like he comes from money, but that could just be from up bringing."

"It's both, but we didn't get into that today." Hermione answered. She had not told them that she and Drake had known each other back in school. She didn't want to give Jennifer any reason to complain that it wasn't fair that she was stuck with Tim. She was already miserable, which annoyed the other ladies because there had been a woman named Lizabeth who had been interested in him, but he choose Jennifer and she was let go.

"Derek was just what I imagined him to look like. Super handsome, built. I jumped on him and he was completely unphased. I could have kissed him forever." Gianna blushed. She went into a full description of Derek which caused giggles from the women as they got tipsier with the bottles of wine they had opened. The focus came back to Hermione.

"Alright, what does your dragon look like. We want to know." Gianna asked her.

Hermione smiled thinking on how Draco always presented himself since the war. He was so different from his father and how he looked when he was younger.

"Well, he's about 6 foot, maybe 6'3'' at most, he makes me feel tiny, even though I am 5'6''. He's got platinum blonde hair which he clearly puts time into." Hermione smirked thinking on how he always slicked it back as a kid, but as an adult he kept the sides very short and the top longer. It wasn't slicked back but he styled still. "He's got a small scar over his left eyebrow, and defined jawline. He's very fit. He used to be an athlete in school, and still plays in pick up games with his friends. His eyes are a blue that is almost like a silver." She quickly realized she was giving a lot of detail about him and Laura smirked. It was a look that Ginny would have given her.

"Mmhm, someone has the hots for her fiancé after seeing him. Especially if you can remember all those details." Laura commented.

"Did you want to jump him when you saw him? You know like Gianna did to Derek?" Amanda giggled, the wine clearly making her drunk.

"I thought about it, and apparently he did too. He told me he didn't want to ruin the dress because he wants to take me to a work event in the future and thought I looked beautiful in it." Hermione blushed.

"Of course, he thought you were beautiful. He's not blind or stupid." Laura quipped and the group that was gathered laughed.

It was with that laughter and more wine than she cared to admit that she walked back to the pod with her journal and the hope that Draco was there. She giggled her way into the room. Laura had known they wouldn't be able to keep her away all night and it wasn't until they were all tipsy and spilling secrets about the men they had become engaged to that she winked at Hermione letting her know that she was free to escape back to Drake. Apparently, she and Camden had similar nightly routines as of late and she wasn't going to prevent her from doing what she planned as well.

Hermione let out a hiccup and Draco snickered. "Are you drunk my little swot?"

"I, well quite honestly, I believe I am." Hermione croaked between hiccups. Which made Draco laugh harder. "Don't laugh. Wine goes down so much easier than Ogden's. I am not sure how many glasses I had. Laura kept filling my glass."

"Time to rest then love. Tomorrow is a big day." Draco smiled to himself, because their journey wasn't over, they would be leaving tomorrow to spend a week away.

*Draco thinking back*

Camden and the other men were making predictions on where it would be. One thought Paris, because they would want to surround the couples in romance. Another thought somewhere in Greece or Italy, feeling they would bond over beautiful sites. Camden felt it would be predictable and be some beachy location. Draco agreed.

"Paradise men, sun, sand, surf a honeymoon of sorts for a week to keep us still in a bubble without being separated in the pods." Camden stated.

"It would have to be a resort of some type, something they can still monitor and keep controlled so that the experiment doesn't blow up on day one out of the pods." Draco threw in his two cents.

"Agreed. But damn if I wouldn't mind a week in paradise with Laura before tackling the real world and all that awaits with planning a wedding." Camden raised his glass to him.

"I would not mind seeing Gia in a bathing suit that's for sure." Derek grinned.

The group of men had dwindled down from 25 to 6. Draco still didn't like Martin, but the others seemed okay. But it was with this conversation that he thought about how he and Hermione would have to find a way to use their magic to keep certain things between them. He thought about her scar, he knew she glamoured it when she didn't want people to see, his dark mark had faded, and he had a magical tattoo now that hid it, as there was now way to removed or completely cover it. He wondered what Hermione would think of that. He also had his share of scars from the beating he received from his father over the years and aunt for failing at his mission. Not to mention the ones from Potter when they dueled in 6th year and the spell sliced his chest to ribbons. If not for his Godfather Draco would have bled out on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Did you know that the first time they did this, none of the couples knew they were going to the same location? They sent them all out separately so that they could surprise them with what each other looked like one of the nights they were away." Tim stated.

"Dude did you watch the show or something?" Derek joked at him. Tim tended to take the brunt of most of the men's jokes because he was the youngest.

"No, I just chatted up one of the producer's lackies one day. Apparently, that blew up like an ill-timed bomb. One of the women refused to marry the guy I the end because she was took hung up on how another guy was more her type physically, so she wasn't attracted to him any longer. They figured they would cut costs and a repeat of that if we all flew out and arrived there together as couples."

"Yeah well all you a holes better keep your eyes and your hands to yourselves. Gianna is mine." Derek eyed Martin especially as he took a drink from the cup he was holding.

"Same, don't go falling for Laura when any of you see her. I would hate to end up in jail for murdering one of you on camera." Camden joked.

"I have ways of making you disappear if needed, but I am not worried about it. I think things might just turn out in my favor when it comes to this woman." Draco smirked.

And now here he was listening to the sound of her drunkenly giggling, as she read the latest entry he had written while she was with the ladies. He hoped she was as ready for this next leg of their journey as he was.

The next chapter is the trip...they haven't spoken to anyone yet. They aren't supposed to until they return from the trip, but Hermione and Draco are a little different than the others. They don't need cellphones or computers to communicate while away from family and friends. ;) More to come, I am going to try and get the next one up before Monday.